The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr.Ola Olukoyede, insisted yesterday that the anti-graft agency would do everything humanly possible to bring immediate past governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to account for his tenure in office.
Olukoyede, who briefed the media in Abuja, said Yahaya Bello was using some antics to try to evade trial after engaging in various acts of financial mismanagement, one of which involved the transfer of Kogi State money via Bureau D’change dealers.
The EFCC chairman said in one instance, Bello caused his cousin to move $750,000 to a BDC for payment of his child’s school fees abroad in advance.
He said the agency would have arrested Bello as early as January this year but waited to secure a warrant of arrest from the Federal High Court before going to effect his arrest last week but was prevented from doing so by a governor and 30 armed policemen.
Olukoyede said although EFCC had 50 armed operatives who would have confronted the policemen in Bello’s House, they opted to exercise caution to avoid collateral damage.
He, however, vowed that all the persons, who aided and abetted Bello to escape arrest last week would be fished out and punished in accordance with the law.
Olukoyede said: “We have not violated any law regarding Yahaya Bello. Indeed, we have obeyed the judgment of Kogi High Court, which ordered EFCC to produce and charge Yahaya Bello before FHC. It didn’t stop us from not prosecuting him.
I personally invited Bello for interview in my office but he refused and asked us to come to his village to talk to him. He did so many things with Kogi’s money but does not want to come to court to clear his name and that is quite unfortunate.